A Week-End Of Firsts.

This morning we had the first egg of the year from one of our 3 not so young hens. Keeping a few hens is not a money saving exercise as the cost of feeding them all year round doesn't balance the eggs they lay even taking into account the higher price of free range eggs. I just enjoy being able to re-cycle some of our kitchen waste into fantastic eggs laid by contented free range hens. True to the forecast it has been grey and wet today so my day has been spent pottering around indoors, catching up with school work and even some housework. I have been making myself tackle one small housework task each evening so now I don't feel guilty about not spending the whole of my week-end cleaning. I may be cracking this housework lark as I find that even 15-30 mins of some boring task makes me feel better both physically and mentally. All the benefits of going to the gym without the cost or time. Also I would get very dispirited when the boys were home, first because I knew that any tidying up would soon be undone by one of those 3 mess makers but also I would get cross at the thought that here were grown young men who should be helping but only did so after much pleading/nagging. Now things stay tidy and I'm not waiting for someone else to do a job but do it straight away(ish) myself. Peter does a share but now he is working full-time (hang on, I think I do too!) it is mainly cooking or sorting out maintenance problems.

While enjoying the sun yesterday I also spotted the first daffodils flowering along the stream that runs behind the house. The bank is sheltered by the house so while the other daffodils in the garden are just green spears poking up from the ground these are already beginning to show their springtime colours.

Next to my piano in the sitting room is a full length window giving me a lovely view of these daffodils to enjoy.

Meanwhile at the front of the house the first snowdrops have appeared. When I was on my way to Mortehoe yesterday I saw great clumps of them flowering in front of Indicott Farm. I can't remember if Ron gave me the snowdrops but I do recall him bringing me a lot of daffodil bulbs when we first moved in. Many of the plants in the garden were given to me by kind neighbours when we first moved in as there was no garden here at all.